Disney Dining Plans are accepted throughout the Parks, Resorts and Disney Springs and can be a great option for guests who prefer pre-paid vacations and possibly saving money on food!
Dining 101
For those who like the idea of a completely pre-paid (or all inclusive) type of vacation, Disney Dining Plans make for an excellent addition to your Walt Disney World Vacation Package. By purchasing a Disney Dining Plan, you are pre-purchasing a specified number of snacks, meals and drinks, depending on the level of dining plan you choose.
By purchasing a plan you are purchasing a certain number of “entitlements” or credits toward your meals. These entitlements are loaded into your account at the day of check-in and are good until Midnight the day of check-out. You don’t have to spend a certain number per day or lose them. They are there until you Midnight the day of check-out. You can use them throughout Walt Disney World theme parks, resorts as well as in most locations at Disney Springs.
If you do not use all your entitlements by Midnight the day of check-out, they are gone. You can use your remaining snack credits in the resort and them park gift shops as well as on coffee. With a little planning, you can maximize your snack credit use (which we can address in a future post!)
When purchasing a dining plan, you are allotted snacks and meals within certain categories and dollar values. For example, a snack can usually be an item up to around $8 (this can change but this is a general number). These items are typically marked with a special Disney Dining Plan purple snack logo. You can also tell a Cast Member that you are on a dining plan and ask them if an item you are considering qualifies. They are very helpful! Just ask!
The dining plan you elect determines what items are included (i.e. pre-paid on your meal plan) in your meal experience. For example, on the Disney Dining Plan, a table service meal often will include one beverage (can be an alcoholic beverage), an entree and a dessert, per adult. Whereas on the Deluxe Dining Plan table service meals include an appetizer. Additionally, some restaurants and dinner shows require more than one entitlement. On of our very favorites, Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue, will cost two dining entitlements on the Disney Dining Plan as it is a dinner show therefore a higher priced dining experience.
Most “Signature” restaurants (i.e. fine dining) and extremely popular dining experiences will cost two table service entitlements. Entitlements can change at any time but locations like California Grill, Cinderella’s Royal Table and The Boathouse are examples of two table service credit dining experiences.
Located at Disney’s Ft. Wilderness Resort
When electing any of the dining plans above the Disney Quick Service Dining Plan, you will be responsible for gratuities. Disney automatically applies a gratuity of 18% on any meals with 6 or more guests in the reservation party. It is expected that you tip approximately 18-20% on your meals. This is something you will want to calculate when you are budgeting your vacation!
You can pay for gratuities in a variety of ways, such as with a Disney gift card, credit card or cash. As a resort guest, you have the option to charge to your MagicBand, which will charge back to your resort room. If you elect to have it charged to your room, you can make payment on all your charges the night before check-out at the front desk by using Disney gift cards. Otherwise, the charges made to your resort via MagicBand will be charged to the credit card in your MyDisneyExperience account.
Dining Plan Costs
Now that we have discussed the basics of how the plan works, here’s a look at current pricing.
- Disney Quick Service Dining Plan 2020 – Adult $55, Child (3-9 years of age) $26
- Plan includes refillable souvenir resort mug (water, tea and soft drinks)
- 2 Quick Service credits per day, per resort night
- 2 Snack credits per day, per resort night
- Disney Dining Plan 2020– Adult $78, Child (3-9 years of age) $30.50
- Plan includes refillable souvenir resort mug (water, tea and soft drinks)
- 1 Quick Service credit, per day, per resort night
- 1 Table Service credit, per day, per resort night
- 2 Snack credits per day, per resort night
- Disney Dining Plus Plan 2020 – Adult $94.50, Child (age 3-9 years of age) $35
- Plan includes refillable souvenir resort mug (water, tea and soft drinks)
- 2 Dining Credits that can be used as either Quick Service or Table Service, per day, per resort night
- 2 Snack credits per day, per resort night
- Disney Deluxe Dining Plan 2020 – Adult $119, Child (3-9 years of age)
- Plan includes refillable souvenir resort mug (water, tea and soft drinks)
- 3 Dining Credits that can be used as either Quick Service or Table Service, per day, per resort night
- 2 Snack credits per day, per resort nigh
Each Disney Dining Plan is designed for specific vacation needs and styles. Overall, determining which dining plan may work for your family, it depends on how big of eaters your traveling party is and how many table service meals you would like to do during your trip. If you are considering several meals where you can meet and interact with characters during your dining experience, then one of the Dining Plans with Table Service dining can prove to be a good value for you.
Crush on the Magic 